SERVICE CANCELLATION Sunday January 25th

 Due to the extreme cold and the condition of the parking lot at the hall, there will be no service on Sunday January 25th.

Pastor Matthew Trott - Sunday Jan 18, 2026

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 28

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - BOTH TOGETHER

BOTH TOGETHER

In the days of the Old Testament, the world seemed to be divided into two groups: those chosen by God, the Jewish nation, and all others called Gentiles. There was no love lost between the two for the Jews disliked the Gentiles intensely. The Jews, the males being circumcised, often referred to the Gentiles as being the uncircumcised. For this reason, David referred to Goliath…

…who is this uncircumcised Philistine, 

that he should defy the armies of the living God? 

(1 Samuel 17:26)

Could such peoples ever be one? It seemed unlikely and it came as a surprise when Gentiles started receiving the same Spirit as the Jewish people.

While Peter was still speaking these words, 

the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 

And those of the circumcision were astonished…

because the gift of the Holy Spirit 

had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 

(Acts 10:44-45)

The Lord had also spoken concerning Saul…

…he is a chosen vessel of Mine 

to bear My name before Gentiles. 

(Acts 9:15) 

But overall, this was not really something new or unexpected. Many times Isaiah had spoken of this happening. For example:

And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,

Who shall stand as a banner to the people;

For the Gentiles shall seek Him… 

(Isaiah 11:10)

And 

…I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles… 

(Isaiah 49:6)

The Gentiles shall come to your light… 

(Isaiah 60:3)

This all began when Abraham and Lot left Ur (Genesis 12) under God’s direction and with God’s blessing. Lot later separated from Abraham and God’s blessing when he went to live is Sodom, where he became morally and spiritually corrupt. After escaping from Sodom, Lot became drunk at the hands of his daughters who became pregnant by him and had children. They in turn gave rise to two immoral and inhospitable nations - Ammon and Moab. It was the king of the latter who tried to curse the Israelites through Balaam.

In spite of this historical separation between the Jewish people and the Moabites, it still happened that when a famine occurred in Bethlehem, Naomi and her husband left that city and went to Moab. Her husband, Elimelech, and her sons died there (some believe prematurely due to God’s displeasure with them), leaving Naomi and Ruth to return to Bethlehem. There, although Ruth was a Moabite woman, she met and ended up marrying Boaz, a Jewish man. In a way, this reconciled the descendants of Abraham, a Jew, with the descendants of Lot, a Gentile. And from Boaz and Ruth came the lineage of David and hence of Jesus. 

Thus, the church of Christ, brought together both Jews and Gentiles in one body…

and raised us up together, 

and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

that you, once Gentiles in the flesh…

were without Christ…having no hope and without God in the world.

…have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

For He Himself…has made both one, 

and has broken down the middle wall of separation… 

(Ephesians 2:6,11-14)

It’s amazing how a situation that began with Abraham and Lot, in the book of Genesis has come full circle with the marriage of Ruth and Boaz, and that this has resulted in the reunification of the Jewish and Gentile peoples in Christ and his church.

It certainly does give one something to think about.

 

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 27

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - BLIND

BLIND

It is hard to conceive of a more disabling medical condition than that of being completely blind. Not being able to see and appreciate the wonders of life around us could be both devastating and challenging; although many are able to overcome most of the difficulties encountered. But probably even worse than not being able to see is not being willing to see. 

John Hayward in 1546 summed this up well when he stated that:

There are none so blind as those who will not see.*

The same thought is stated in Jeremiah when God says:

…O foolish people, 

without understanding, 

Who have eyes and see not,

And who have ears and hear not… 

(Jeremiah 5:21)

And, also in Matthew 13 when Jesus says:

…I speak to them in parables,

because seeing they do not see, 

and hearing they do not hear, 

nor do they understand. 

(Matthew 13:13)

Perhaps part of the reason we often seem unwilling to see is because we have, in part, been conditioned that way. In Deuteronomy, we are told the curses that may befall us if we have been disobedient to the Lord’s commands.

But it shall come to pass, 

if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God…

 

…cursed shall you be…

The Lord will strike you with madness 

and blindness and confusion of heart.

And you shall grope at noonday, 

as a blind man gropes in darkness; 

you shall not prosper in your ways…

no one shall save you. 

(Deuteronomy 28:15,16, 28, 29)

Does this explain, since all have sinned, why the disciples seemed to not understand what Jesus was trying to teach them? After they had seen all that Jesus had done during His travels in Judea and the Decapolis, they still did not seem to grasp the main point He was trying to make. He in fact said:

…Do you not yet perceive nor understand?

Is your heart still hardened?

Having eyes, do you not see?… 

(Mark 8:17,18)

And yet are we not the same? Are we not aware of the attributes of God and the wonders He performs for us each day? Are there not small miracles every day all around us? These may not fall into the same category as feeding thousands with only a few small bread loaves and a few fish, but still miracles nonetheless. As it states in Romans:

…since the creation of the world 

His invisible attributes are clearly seen, 

being understood by the things that are made…

so that they [man] are without excuse… 

(Romans 1:20)

But men…

…[p]rofessing to be wise, they became fools, 

…[and] exchanged the truth of God for the lie, 

and worshiped and served the creature 

rather than the Creator… 

(Romans 1:22,25)

Because man refuses to acknowledge what is so plainly in front of him, the world ends up in its present situation; with madness and blindness. Man gropes around in the darkness of his confusion, never really prospering, and wondering if the world at all can be saved.

It is really quite true; there are none so blind as those who will not see.

Certainly something to think about.

*Proverb documented by Hayward in 1546.

Jean Kirk Jan 11, 2026

If you would like to see the video that was shown at the end of this video, click here:  

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10153773712303209&rdid=Km83e8Xu2Fe33r64

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 26

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE ONE WAY

THE ONE WAY

As we start a new year, perhaps it would be good to review the overall uniqueness and simplicity of the Christian faith. After all, there is really no comparison between religion as we know it and the relationship we have with Christ.

At first, that relationship was intact with God. And God blessed man whom…

…[He] created in His own image… 

(Genesis 1:27)

and He… 

….planted a garden eastward in Eden, 

and there He put the man He had formed.

(Genesis 2:8)

And He Himself…

….walk[ed] In the garden in the cool of the day…. 

(Genesis 3:8)

But man, being in God’s image, had free will and he soon came to disbelieve God and thereby broke that trust when he was questioned:

“Has God indeed said…?” 

(Genesis 3:1)

Many times over the centuries, God has tried to reconcile with man. The book of Judges is replete with examples of God and man temporally reconciling only to fall apart again whenever man started to prosper and think he could do things his own way. The situation was spelled out in Deuteronomy when God said:

…I have set before you today life 

and good, death and evil.

(Deuteronomy 30:15)

He laid out the blessings that would come with obedience to His word and the curses that would develop with disobedience.

In spite of this, man has continued to disobey the Lord with the world showing the consequences of those actions. But God, in His grace, love and mercy, has refused to give up on us, and so has given us one last chance to reconcile with Him.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believes in Him should not perish 

but have everlasting life. 

(John 3:16)

He has given us knowledge of Him in the only way we could fully understand, in that He came to us on our turf and in our place. How else could we really understand the Almighty and the Eternal unless He came to us and communicated with us face to face? And yet even with this gesture…

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 

(John 1:11)

…they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 

(John 10:6)

This was especially true when He said:

…“I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

(John 14:6)

But many still do not understand just who Christ is and therefore continue to decline God’s mercy and grace. As a result, they miss out on the whole purpose of life, which is still basically so simple.

Believe in Christ’s sacrifice and payment for you.

Receive God’s mercy and grace promised to you.

Achieve the ultimate purpose in life - 

spending eternity with God.

It’s something we all should be continually thinking about.

Peter MacLaren Jan. 4, 2026